Washington/Kyiv, Agency
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left Washington on Friday night empty handed, as he was not able to secure a commitment from US President Donald Trump for supplying Kyiv with Tomahawk cruise missiles, amid Ukraine's bid for carrying out deep strikes into Russian territory via bolstering its own long range attack capabilities.
Speaking to reporters after their meeting at the White House, Zelensky said the two leaders had discussed the issue but agreed not to make public statements on it, noting that "the United States does not want an escalation."
Trump later reiterated that stance, saying he hoped the war could end "without thinking about Tomahawks."
"Hopefully they won't need it," he said. "I think we're fairly close to that."
While he did not rule out providing the missiles, Trump had stressed that the US needed them for its own defence and warned that any transfer would only more than likely escalate the war.
The meeting came just a day after Trump's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, during which the two reportedly agreed to meet soon in Hungary.
Zelensky believes using Tomahawks to strike at Russian oil and energy facilities would severely weaken Putin's 'war economy', adding that Ukraine could offer the US drones in exchange for the Tomahawks.
While Trump did not rule it out, and even seemed pleased with the idea, he was noted to be not committed to the plan overall.
The Ukrainian president also praised Trump's recent diplomatic efforts in the Middle East and urged him to use that momentum to help bring an end to the Russian assault.
Seemingly open to Trump's idea of freezing the conflict along current front lines, Zelensky said, "We have to stop where we are — he is right, the president is right. The next step is to talk."
In a post on X later that evening, Zelensky said he had briefed several European leaders on his talks in Washington, stressing that Ukraine's "main priority now is to protect as many lives as possible, guarantee security for Ukraine, and strengthen all of us in Europe."
